Barrel cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A device for removing material from the bore of a firearm including a primed shell case for mounting in the chamber of a firearm, a projectile mounted within the shell, and a wad mounted within the case between the primer and the projectile. The projectile comprises an axially compressed cylindrical portion of open, low density randomly woven resilient organic material capable of intimate contact with the bore of a firearm to remove foreign material, moisture, and powder residue upon propulsion through the bore by detonation of the primer.

United States Patent [191 [451 June 26, 1973 Kyle [ BARREL CLEANING DEVICE [75] Inventor: Robert C. Kyle, St. Paul, Minn.

[73] Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn.

[22] Filed: Feb. 12, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 115,007

[52] US. Cl 42/1 R, 42/1 N, 102/39, 102/92.7

[51] Int. Cl F4lc3l/00, F42b 5/24, F42b 9/22 [58] Field of Search 42/1 N, 1 R; 102/39, 102/92.7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 938,836 11/1909 Fessenden 102/39 1,495,008 5/1924 Feagin 102/39 3,476,047 11/1969 Davis 102/39 2,047,897 7/1936 Symes 102/39 2,765,740 10/1956 Norman 102/39 3,209,690 10/1965 Mercatoris, Jr 102/39 Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-C. T. Jordan Attorney-Alexander, Sell, Steldt & De Lahunt [57] ABSTRACT A device for removing material from the bore of a firearm including a primed shell case for mounting in the chamber of a firearm, a projectile mounted within the shell, and a wad mounted within the case between the primer and the projectile. The projectile comprises an axially compressed cylindrical portion of open, low density randomly woven resilient organic material capable of intimate contact with the bore of a firearm to remove foreign material, moisture, and powder residue upon propulsion through the bore by detonation of the primer.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] JUN 26 I913 SHEH 2 BF 2 1 BARREL CLEANING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a device for removing material from the bore of a firearm, and in one aspect relates to a projectile of open, low density random woven material capable of removing moisture, powder residue and foreign material from the bore of a firearm upon propulsion therethrough by a conventional primer.

Cleaning the bore of a firearm after use is generally required to prevent possible damage due to corrosion, particularly where the bore of the firearm is exposed to moisture during use or is to be stored under high relative humidity conditions which may afford accumulation of moisture on interior surface of the bore due to hygroscopic action of powder residues allowed to remain therein. It is often true that the task of manually cleaning a firearm is most undesirable when the condition of the firearm is most suitable for bore damage, as at the tennination of an outing under inclement conditions. Under any conditions, the task of manually cleaning the bore of a firearm is time consuming and may require disassembly of the firearm. Therefore there is a need amoung users of firearms for a convenient, quick, easily used and effective device for cleaning a bore of moisture, powder residue and foreign material which will restrict corrosion within a bore until a more complete manual cleaning may be accomplished.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Propelling a special projectile through the bore of a firearm from a shell suitable for mounting in the breech of a firearm has been proposed as a method of easily and quickly cleaning the bore of a firearm. Several prior art devices of this type have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,495,008; 2,047,897; 2,765,740; and 3 ,209,690. These devices, however, generally comprise complex cleaning projectiles which may be too expensive for frequent use by target shooters or hunters and- /or are propelled from the bore by a powder charge so that while the cleaning device affords removal of a foreign material, the device itself deposits a powder residue which may be injurious to the bore in the manner indicated. Additionally, the known prior art devices project the cleaning projectile with such force that their use must be limited to conditions in which a conventional'shell could be discharged through the firearm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The device of the present invention affords an efficient means of removing from the bore of a firearm predeposited materials other than metallic deposits by propelling a special projectile therethrough. The projectile of the present invention provides a wiping action in the bore capable of not only removing the powder residue and foreign material, but also affording essentially complete removal of moisture which may have entered the bore of the firearm such as during use under inclement conditions.

The projectile of the present invention is propelled through the bore of a firearm only by the detonation of a conventional noncorrosive primer and is capable of removing the powder residue of relatively large grain size associated with the firing of conventional shells. The primer will deposit only a fine primer residue over a limited area extending a few inches from the chamber, which residue presents an essentially negligible potential for hygroscopic collection of moisture when compared to the powder residue which has been removed.

Additionally, the energy remaining in the flexible cleaning projectile of the present invention upon leaving the bore of a firearm is sufficiently low that the cleaning device may be used without danger to nearby objects or persons, thus allowing use within the home.

According to the present invention there is provided a device for removing moisture, powder residue and residue and foreign material from the bore of a firearm which includes a primed shell case suitable for mounting in the chamber of a firearm, a projectile compressibly and frictionally mounted within the shell casing, and a wad mounted between the projectile and the primer within the casing to afford efficient transfer of the pressures afforded by detonation of the primer to propel the projectile through the bore of a firearm. The projectile is formed of an open, low density resilient randomly woven organic fiber material capable of making intimate contact with the bore of a firearm upon. propulsion therethrough to remove foreign material, powder residue and moisture. The projectile has an open structure of high surface area to weight ratio to adsorb and collect within the projectile materials removed from the bore without substantially interfering with the cleaning action of the fibers in contact with the bore.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein like numbers refer to like parts in the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a projectile constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a device according to the present invention having the projectile of FIG. 2 mounted therein;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal plan view partially in section, of a firearm having the device of FIG. 2 in its chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing there is shown in FIG. 1 a projectile for removing materials from the bore of a firearm, which projectile is constructed according to the present invention and is generally designated by the number 10. The projectile 10 comprises a compressible resilient cylindrical object of random woven organic fiber which is of suitable diameter (typically from 15 to 20 percent larger diameter than the bore in which it is to be used) to afford removal of moisture, powder residue and foreign material upon swift propulsion of the projectile 10 through the bore of a firearm 2 such as the single barrel hinge action shotgun illustrated in FIG. 4. Typically, the firearm 2 has a cartridge receiving chamber 3, an exit bore 4 in the barrel of the firearm 2 which communicates with the chamber 3, and a conventional firing mechanism 5 for discharging cartridges within the chamber 3 comprising a firing pin 6, hammer 7, hammer spring 8, and trigger assembly 9.

A device 11 according to the present invention and comprising the projectile is illustrated in FIG. 2. The projectile 10 is compressibly and frictionally mounted in a shell casing 12 suitable for loading in the chamber 3 of the firearm 2 as is illustrated in FIG. 4. The casing 12 is of a conventional type and is formed with a hollow cylindrical wall member 14 defining a cylindrical cavity 15 of generaly the same diameter as the bore 4 of the firearm 2 in which the device 11 is designed to be used. The casing 12 has an open end 16 for exit of the projectile 10 and a closed end or base portion 18 at the opposite end thereof. The base portion 18 is formed with an orifice in which is mounted a propulsion means or conventional noncorrosive primer 20 which affords an explosive force within the cavity 15 upon detonation of the primer 20 to propell the projectile 10 through the bore of the firearm 2.

A sealing means illustrated as a single cylindrical wad 22 is mounted within the casing 12 between the projectile 10 and the primer 20 to protect the projectile l0 and to provide a seal to restrict the escape of gases through the projectile 10 upon detonation of the primer 20 thereby ensuring that essentially all of the explosive force afforded by the primer will be utilized to propel the projectile 10 through the bore of the firearm The components of the present invention will now be described in more detail.

The projectile 10 for the removal of powder residue and foreign material may be made of any suitable open fibrous material which is not sufficiently hard to scratch the bore. However, when materials are used which are not sufficiently flexible to conform intimately with the surface of the barrel, or where an absorbent material is used, it has been found that the removal of beads of moisture from within the bore will not be complete.

In its preferred embodiment, the projectile 10 is formed from a lofty open nonwoven three dimensional light weight material formed of many interlaced randomly disposed flexible tough organic fibers which exhibit substantial resiliency and strength and which are firmly adhesively bonded together at points where they cross and contact one another to form a three dimensional integrated structure throughout, such as is described for the base material for the abrasive products described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,583. The preferred randomly woven material as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,583 defines a three-dimensionally extending network of intercommunicating voids constituting at least 75 percent of the volume of the material. The material is flexible and readily compressible, and upon release of pressure, capable of recovering substantially completely to its initial uncompressed form. Typical examples of suitable materials for use in making such random woven material are nylon and polyester (e.g., Dacron). The recommended fiber thickness is within the range of 25 to 250 microns. Binders which have been found to be suitable include phenolaldehyde resins, butylated urea aldehyde resins, epoxide resins, polyester resins such as the condensation product of maleic and phthalic anhydrides and propylene glycol. The fibers of such materials are sufficiently resilient to press the fibers disposed about the periphery of the projectile 10 into intimate contact with the bore, while having sufficient flexibility to conform intimately to the periphery of the barrel to remove material and moisture deposited thereon by adsorption. The woven material may be coated with cleaning, polishing or corrosion-inhibiting materials including for example clays, talc, cleaning solvents and oils.

While the projectile 10 may be made of a sheet of the material coiled upon itself to form a cylindrical projectile, in the preferred embodiment the projectile 10 is die cut from a sheet of randomly woven material.

It has been found that the projectile '10 performs its cleaning operation most efficiently when sized from between 15 to 20 percent larger in diameter than the bore through which it is to be propelled. It is believed that the enlarged diameter of the resilient projectile l0 helps provide intimate contact between the fibers of the projectile l0 and the walls of a bore in which it is to be used, and together with the compressive force supplied to the projectile 10 by the detonation of the primer provides sufficient contact to wipe the interior of a bore free of moisture, powder residue and foreign material (i.e. dirt, etc.).

The wad 22 providing the seal between the projectile l0 and the force provided by detonation of the primer 20 may be of any conventional type including fiber wads, or the more recently developed polyethylene wads. It is contemplated further that the wad 22 may be formed on or attached to (as by an adhesive) one end of the projectile 10.

The primer 20 is of a conventional type and in the cleaning device 11 of FIG. 2, which is illustrated as a device for cleaning the bore of a shotgun, the primer 20 may be any of a series of commercially available primers for use in shotgun shells. It has been found that for each type of primer there is a range for the weight of the projectile 10 which affords the optimum cleaning from the projectile 10 while insuring that the projectile 10 will be expelled from the barrel. For primers commonly in use in shotgun shells of the various gauges (such as the clean bore primer No. 5 7 manufactured by the Remington Arms Company, Inc. of Bridgeport, Conn.,) the combined weight of the cleaning projectile 10 and wad 22 should be in the range between about 0.5 and 1.5 grams.

The casing 12 may be any suitable commercially available casing for the loading of conventional shells, or may be specially manufactured for use in this device. Where, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the case 12 is a commercially available case for use in a shotgun, the length of the case may be trimmed to a standard overall length for loaded shotgun shells of the gauge or caliber involved to afford ease of loading of the cleaning device through a mechanical loading mechanism on a firearm.

In operation, the cleaning device 1 l is loaded into the chamber 3 of the firearm 2 in the normal manner, and the firearm is discharged to detonate the primer 20, thereby propelling the projectile 10 through the bore 4. It has been found that the device 11 is even suitable for use in the bores of shotguns which have a maximum choke or bore restriction at their outlet or which are fitted with commercially available variable choke devices.

In FIG. 3 there is shown a second embodiment of the present invention generally designated by the number .30. The bore cleaning device 30 is particularly suited for use in a center fire rifle or pistol and is comprised of a suitably sized projectile 10, wad 22 and primer 20 which are mounted in a shell casing 32 having suitable exterior dimensions to be positioned in the chamber of a rifle or pistol. The casing 32, which may be formed of a suitable material such as polyethylene, comprises a wall member 34 which defines a cylindrical cavity 36, having an open end 37 and a base portion 38. The base portion 38 is formed with an orifice in which the primer 20 is disposed to provide an explosive force within the cavity 36 upon detonation of the primer 20. The cavity 36 is of generally the same diameter as the bore of the firearm to be cleaned, and maintains the projectile in line with the bore in a firearm in which the device 30 is mounted prior to detonation of the primer 20 to propel the projectile through the bore thereof.

Having thus described the present invention with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawing, it will be appreciated that other minor modifications may be made in the size or shape of the casing without departing from the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A firearm cleaning device adapted for use in a conventional firearm having a cartridge receiving chamber, an exit bore communicating with said chamber, and a firing mechanism for discharging cartridges within said chamber, said cleaning device comprising:

a case adapted for mounting in the chamber of a said firearm, said case having a wall member defining a cylindrical cavity having an open end and an opposite closed base end, said base end having an orifice communicating with said cavity;

a primer mounted within said orifice and adapted for detonation by the firing mechanism of a said firearm, said primer being oriented to provide an explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer;

a cleaning projectile frictionally and compressibly mounted in said cavity, said projectile being formed of a lofty nonwoven resilient compressible open three dimensional light weight material of many randomly disposed interlaced flexible tough organic fibers firmly adhesively bonded together at points where they cross and contact one another, said fibers defining a three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids, the uncompressed diameter of said projectile being larger than the diameter of said cavity; and

a wad mounted in said cavity between said projectile and said primer for retention of said explosive force afforded by detonation of said primer between said base and said wad thereby providing for propulsion of said projectile through a said bore.

2. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said cavity has generally the same diameter as the bore of a said firearm for which said cleaning device is adapted, and wherein the uncompressed diameter of said projectile is from to percent greater than the diameter of said cavity.

3. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids defined by said fibers constitutes at least 75 percent of the volume of said projectile.

4. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said fibers in said projectile are of a diameter within the 6 range of 25 to 250 microns.

5. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein the combined weight of said wad and said projectile is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 grams.

6. In a firearm cleaning device of the type adapted for use in,a conventional firearm having a cartridge receiving chamber, an exit bore communicating with said chamber, and a firing mechanism for discharging cartridges within said chamber, said cleaning device comprising:

a case adapted for mounting in the chamber of a said firearm, said case having a wall member defining a cylindrical cavity having an open end and an opposite closed base end, said base end having an orifice communicating with said cavity;

propulsion means comprising a primer mounted within said orifice and adapted for detonation by the firing mechanism of a said firearm, said primer being oriented to provide an explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer;

a projectile mounted in said cavity and adapted for propulsion through a said bore upon detonation of said primer to clean said bore; and

a wad mounted in said cavity between said projectile and said primer for retention of said explosive force afforded by detonation of said primer between said base and said wad, the improvement wherein;

said projectile is formed of a resilient compressible open three dimensional light weight material of many interlaced flexible tough organic fibers firmly adhesively bonded together at points where they cross and contact one another, said fibers defining a three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids, the uncompressed diameter of said projectile being larger than the diameter of said cavity; and

only said primer provides said explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer to propel said projectile through a said bore.

7. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein said cavity has generally the same diameter as the bore of a said firearm for which said cleaning device is adapted, and wherein the uncompressed diameter of said projectile is from 15 to 20 percent greater than the diameter of said cavity.

8. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein the material of said projectile further comprises a lofty nonwoven material formed of many randomly disposed fibers, and said three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids defined by said fibers constitutes at least percent of the volume of said projectile.

9. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein said fibers in said projectile are of a diameter within the range of 25 to 250 microns.

10. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein the combined weight of said wad and said projectile is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 grams. 

1. A firearm cleaning device adapted for use in a conventional firearm having a cartridge receiving chamber, an exit bOre communicating with said chamber, and a firing mechanism for discharging cartridges within said chamber, said cleaning device comprising: a case adapted for mounting in the chamber of a said firearm, said case having a wall member defining a cylindrical cavity having an open end and an opposite closed base end, said base end having an orifice communicating with said cavity; a primer mounted within said orifice and adapted for detonation by the firing mechanism of a said firearm, said primer being oriented to provide an explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer; a cleaning projectile frictionally and compressibly mounted in said cavity, said projectile being formed of a lofty nonwoven resilient compressible open three dimensional light weight material of many randomly disposed interlaced flexible tough organic fibers firmly adhesively bonded together at points where they cross and contact one another, said fibers defining a three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids, the uncompressed diameter of said projectile being larger than the diameter of said cavity; and a wad mounted in said cavity between said projectile and said primer for retention of said explosive force afforded by detonation of said primer between said base and said wad thereby providing for propulsion of said projectile through a said bore.
 2. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said cavity has generally the same diameter as the bore of a said firearm for which said cleaning device is adapted, and wherein the uncompressed diameter of said projectile is from 15 to 20 percent greater than the diameter of said cavity.
 3. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids defined by said fibers constitutes at least 75 percent of the volume of said projectile.
 4. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein said fibers in said projectile are of a diameter within the range of 25 to 250 microns.
 5. A cleaning device according to claim 1 wherein the combined weight of said wad and said projectile is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 grams.
 6. In a firearm cleaning device of the type adapted for use in a conventional firearm having a cartridge receiving chamber, an exit bore communicating with said chamber, and a firing mechanism for discharging cartridges within said chamber, said cleaning device comprising: a case adapted for mounting in the chamber of a said firearm, said case having a wall member defining a cylindrical cavity having an open end and an opposite closed base end, said base end having an orifice communicating with said cavity; propulsion means comprising a primer mounted within said orifice and adapted for detonation by the firing mechanism of a said firearm, said primer being oriented to provide an explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer; a projectile mounted in said cavity and adapted for propulsion through a said bore upon detonation of said primer to clean said bore; and a wad mounted in said cavity between said projectile and said primer for retention of said explosive force afforded by detonation of said primer between said base and said wad, the improvement wherein; said projectile is formed of a resilient compressible open three dimensional light weight material of many interlaced flexible tough organic fibers firmly adhesively bonded together at points where they cross and contact one another, said fibers defining a three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids, the uncompressed diameter of said projectile being larger than the diameter of said cavity; and only said primer provides said explosive force within said cavity upon detonation of said primer to propel said projectile through a said bore.
 7. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein saId cavity has generally the same diameter as the bore of a said firearm for which said cleaning device is adapted, and wherein the uncompressed diameter of said projectile is from 15 to 20 percent greater than the diameter of said cavity.
 8. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein the material of said projectile further comprises a lofty nonwoven material formed of many randomly disposed fibers, and said three dimensional extending network of intercommunicating voids defined by said fibers constitutes at least 75 percent of the volume of said projectile.
 9. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein said fibers in said projectile are of a diameter within the range of 25 to 250 microns.
 10. A cleaning device according to claim 6 wherein the combined weight of said wad and said projectile is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 grams. 